Talk:Caligula cachara

@Boleyn

I think Caligula cachara should be changed. I ran across this when I was looking for sources:

"we propose to elevate six subgenera to genus level: Agapema Neumoegen & Dyar 1894 stat. rev., -Cachosaturnia stat. nov., Calosaturnia Smith 1886 stat. rev., -Neoris Moore 1862 stat. rev., Perisomena Walker 1855 stat. rev., Rinaca Walker 1855 stat. rev. Additionally, we synonymize Eudia Jordan 1911 syn. nov. with Saturnia Schrank 1802 because it renders Saturnia paraphyletic, and confirm the previous synonymization of Eriogyna Jordan 1911 with Saturnia and of Caligula Moore 1862 with Rinaca Walker 1855", Systematics and biogeography reciprocally illuminate taxonomic revisions in the silkmoth genus Saturnia (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

D Rubinoff, C Doorenweerd The Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 2020•BioOne

and

"The genus Rinaca Walker 1855 was established with the type species Caligula simla (Westwood 1847) from Simlah (=Shimla), India. Eleven years later, Rinaca Walker 1855 was synonymized with the genus Saturnia Schrank 1802 by Moore (1865). Later-on, Bouvier (1935) synonymized Saturnia Schrank 1802 with Caligula Moore 1862. Finally, Nässig (1994) synonymized Caligula Moore 1862 with the subgenus Rinaca Walker 1855 under the genus Saturnia Schrank 1802. Based on molecular phylogenetic and biogeographic results, Rubinoff & Doorenweerd (2020) confirmed the previous synonymization of Nässig (1994) and erected the subgenus Rinaca to the genus rank. The genus Rinaca Walker 1855 includes 10 species endemic to the eastern Palaearctic, with one species penetrating along the Himalayan foothills as far west as Afghanistan."

Detailed Taxonomic Redescription, Distribution, and Rediscovery of the Birch Emperor Moth, Rinaca Lindia (Moore 1865) (Bombycoidea: Saturniidae) from Jammu & Kashmir, India, After a 38-Year Hiatus

Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 76 (3), 2022, 203–206

In short, the genus Caligula became a synonym of Rinaca, a subgenus of Saturnia, and this (and the other 7 species of Caligura with articles) became members of the genus Saturnia. Rinaca was then proposed be elevated to genus rank, which would cause the species to be members of Rinaca instead of Saturnia.

Catalogue of Life currently retains Rinaca as a subgenus. GBIF also does not include Rinaca as a genus. iNaturalist is ambiguous at the moment.

The only consensus I see is that this species (Caligula cachara) and others of Caligula should be moved to Saturnia or Rinaca, and Caligula should be redirected to Saturnia or Rinaca.

Should the 8 species articles of Caligula go to Saturnia or Rinaca, or neither?

Bob Webster (talk) 03:51, 9 July 2024 (UTC)